


Demons Shall Pray

by Dragonquillca



Series: Divine Intervention [2]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Angels, F/F, Gen, Guardian Angels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-14 23:36:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4584516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonquillca/pseuds/Dragonquillca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Angel of the Lost gets a new assignment, but this one is tougher than any of her others. While she works hard to save more than one life, a fallen angel is whispering in the ear of a very angry, very armed young woman who is hell bent on revenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

**_“Though God’s power be sufficient to govern us,_ **

**_Yet for Man’s infirmity He appointed his angels to watch over us.”_ **

****  
  
  


Dee and Ashlyn watched the clouds float above them in silence until Ashlyn rolled her head toward her friend. She opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, then seemed to think better of it and closed her mouth. A few moments later, she did it again.

“What?” Dee sighed.

Ashlyn rolled her head toward Dee. “Can I ask you a question?”

“I think you just did.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the clouds above them.

Dee sighed again. “Okay, spill it.”

“How long have you been...in your position?”

“You mean how long have I been the Angel of Death?”

“I hate when you put it like that. Makes you sound ghoulish.”

“It’s what I am, Ash. I am Death incarnate. One of many, sure, but it’s still what...who...I am. In answer to your question, I got called up thirty years ago. Why are you asking this now?”

Ashlyn, more formally known as  the Angel of the Lost, shrugged one shoulder. “I dunno. Sometimes I have too much time to think I suppose. Too many questions.”

Dee waited a minute before she countered with a question of her own. “Remind me how long you’ve been in your position?”

“Fifteen years, three months.” Ashlyn replied with clipped finality.

“You sound a little peeved about it.”

“I’m not, not really.”

“I know  the job wasn’t really laid out properly for you when it was offered to you…” Dee began.

“It’s not the job so much, there’s just so much misery in the world now.”

“You, of any of us, should understand how important  you are. When you were offered the job, your place in the Host didn’t exist. There’s a growing movement among Mankind, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better, I’m afraid. As much as you and I would like to retire, we both know that’s not going to happen.”

Ashlyn sighed and tucked her right arm under her head. “You would think I would be a little more patient, right? But fifteen years…”

“And three months.” Dee helpfully supplied.

Ashlyn just elbowed her friend.

“Oof! And would you please tell me how you get to sport a tattoo when the Council won’t let me cut my hair?”

“I made a very good case that it would help my charges relate to me. I must just be more charming than you.”

Dee chuckled beside her. “Seriously, I understand how you feel. Maybe you should use that charm of yours to get us a vacation.”

“I wonder if the Council would…”

“Ashlyn, may I have a moment, please?” Atal’s voice came from behind them.

Dee sat up, helped her friend up and inclined her head respectfully to Atal before turning to her friend. “I’ll find you later.”

Ashlyn turned to the angel that had both guided her and watched over her ever since she had taken on her title.

“Walk with me a while?” Atal gestured.

Ashlyn fell into step beside him and waited.

“I apologize for disturbing your time with Death.” He began.

“Her name is Dee.”

Atal smothered a smile. “Yes...my apologies. I know the two of you do not get many opportunities to visit. There is an assignment to be decided upon and although it is not exactly within what you do within the Host, I feel strongly that you may be the one this situation needs.” Atal clasped his hands behind his back as he strolled and Ashlyn snuck glances at him as they walked.

He was taller than she, leggy and thin where her height was in her body length. He wore his hair long, as many of their kind did, and it cascaded to his shoulders in a mass of soft brown waves. His face was never harsh or cruel looking, due to the almost-smile he often wore beneath his mustache. In their Order, he was A Watcher, one who oversaw some of their Kindred, always observing, weighing and considering where one might be of most use.

“Can you explain a little better, Atal? I’m not following.”

“Following? Ah...yes, an expression. Forgive me, it has been too long since I walked among Mankind. I tend to leave such things to younger angels.” Atal canted his head toward Ashlyn and smiled before continuing.  “It has come to our attention that there is a young woman who has grown greatly disillusioned with her life. She is frustrated, deeply hurt and wishes to lash out. If she does this, many will be killed. Obviously, we wish to avoid this.” He shook his head slowly and frowned.

“It’s not my usual gig. Why me?” Ashlyn stopped and turned toward the water they had been following.

Atal’s brow furrowed momentarily as he tried to puzzle through what his younger charge might mean. Finally, he explained. “As you said to Dee, you have been with us fifteen years. You are the youngest of us, and more easily able to relate to some of Humankind. It is partly because of that fact that The Council allowed you to keep your body adornment. I believe that Mankind needs some reminder that we serve a higher purpose, but I fear that we are…” Atal searched for the right way to express himself.

“Old? Out of date?” Ashlyn turned to him with a grin. “Stuffy? Expired?”

“I’m hardly a loaf of bread, Ashlyn!” Atal protested with a laugh. “But you skirt close to the truth. Many of Mankind do see our kind as a relic from another time, and no longer relevant. I believe that if any of us can reach out and stop this young lady from committing a horrible sin, it will be you. She will be able to relate to you best of all.”

“Because of my tattoos?”

“Those, as well as the simple fact that you are closer to her age, you will present yourself in a way that befits the situation, as you always have. Many of our Kin have forgotten how to do that.”

Ashlyn nodded before looking out at the river again. “Atal, why me?”

“I have just explained…”

“No, not this assignment, why was I offered the position? I’ve come to understand that this sort of arrangement isn’t exactly common.”

“Ah.” Atal stood beside her and put an arm across her shoulders as they watched the water slip past them under a perfect sky. “You were not brought up with the teachings of the Bible, if I remember correctly?”

Ash shook her head.

“There are more of our kind than can be numbered, we have been referred to as The Heavenly Host, and in a shorter form, The Host. But for all of our numbers, and for all of our wisdom which is greater than Man’s, we have a number of us who choose to follow wickedness, greed, power and sin rather than the Holy Teachings. You would think that we would not need an infusion of youth, but if we wish to serve according to the Divine Plan, we needed to accept that alternate viewpoints were relevant. Alternate viewpoints would not be found among angels who had been in existence for millennia. You already know your...position...did not exist before you joined us.”

“So why me, specifically?”

Atal cast his eyes upward and sighed. Very few of his kin had come to divine existence in the way Ashlyn had, and even fewer had asked that question. “Do you remember your life among humankind?”

“Parts of it, usually as I need those memories, but nothing more. I’ve never been able to figure out why.”

“Your friend Dee petitioned for your inclusion.”

“Why?”

“She can answer that better than I.”

Ashlyn was silent, but only for a moment. “Once I’ve seen the assignment through to its resolution, I suppose she and I will need to talk.”

Atal nodded and turned toward the Angel of the Lost. “Your charge this time is Thalassa Kennedy. She is angry at the world and can be violent. You cannot be hurt, but be careful. I am only a thought away if you need guidance.”

“Thank you, Atal.”

“It is my pleasure, Ashlyn.” He smiled at her, and patted her shoulder before walking away.

The Angel of the Lost watches him go before turning back to the river.

Her river.

The one that mystifies her, the one she is tied to in a way she can’t remember, the one that frightens her.

**_To be continued_ **

****


	2. Suffering & Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ashlyn learns what tortures Thalassa, and what makes her happy.

Ashlyn focused on her newest charge, willed herself at Thalassa’s side and upon opening her eyes found herself on the front steps of the Eden Institute of Higher Thought.

“You have got to be kidding me...” Ashlyn muttered, even though she knew full well she couldn’t be seen or heard. “Eden...really?” Ash’s concentration was broken when she saw the young woman at her side go up the steps and through the front doors. The Angel of the Lost followed. Her charge this time was a teenager, poised on that rickety cusp of youth and budding adulthood. She had the look most teenage girls did just before they came into their own beauty, but this one radiated nervousness and uncertainty.  Her dark hair parted in the middle and hung to her shoulders, straight and simple. Her blue eyes focused not on her fellow students or her surroundings but on the ground in front of her. She reminded Ashlyn very much of a frightened and unsettled bird that had fallen from the nest and was only waiting for the cat to pounce on her.

The building was like any other old school, full of trophy cases and banners meant to encourage and uplift. All of the students lingering in the hallways or rummaging in lockers, or clustered together in groups however, were female. As Ashlyn followed Thalassa, she began to notice the others were regarding the girl with either disdain, disinterest or pity. When the teenager stopped at a locker, she turned her back to the others and spun the dial on her lock, no sooner did she open the small metal door then another girl gave her a shove.

“Move aside, Kennedy, you’re taking up space intended for a better person than you!”

Ashlyn felt the wave of sadness and indignation from her charge, but she watched silently, still unseen.

“I wasn’t in your way. Just leave me alone, Vivian.”

“What if I don’t want to, hmm?” The other girl turned and faced Thalassa. She was blonde, blessed with runway model looks and perfect teeth. “What if I want to make you do whatever I want?” Her voice took on a low, silky quality. “You might enjoy that...”

“Bugger off. Everyone knows you’re straight and you hate me.” Thalassa mumbled.

“Maybe I’d like to see how nerdy dykes do it.” Vivian stepped closer and reached up to play with the collar of Thalassa’s school uniform shirt.

Thalassa brought her hand up to flick Vivian’s away. “Just leave me alone, please?”

Vivian snatched the younger girl’s wrist and shoved it against an adjoining locker. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Kennedy. I call the shots in this school...”

“Miss Tremaine!” A voice rang out down the hall, and Vivian, Thalassa and Ashlyn all turned toward the sound of authority. “You will release your fellow student this instant and remove yourself from her personal space or you will be washing these floors with a vegetable brush!” Even as the older woman spoke, she moved down the hall toward them.

Vivian released Thalassa with a final shove and a fierce whisper. “This isn’t over yet!”

As her tormenter bolted around a corner, Thalassa rubbed her wrist and turned to face the teacher that had intervened.

“Miss Kennedy, are you hurt?” She brushed her long red hair over one shoulder and peered at Thalassa with intensely green eyes.

“I’m okay, thank you, Miss Roberts.”

Thalassa’s math teacher eyed her carefully, noticing that her student was still rubbing her left wrist. “I know you can’t very well avoid Vivian in a school of this size, but I urge you to be careful in her presence. One never knows quite what she’s capable of. If you ever find yourself in need of an understanding ear...you know where to find me.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Thalassa turned pink and swallowed before looking at her shoes.

“I’ll see you in class then.” Miss Roberts spoke softly and turned to leave.

Thalassa raised her eyes and watched the older woman leave. She watched the way she walked with stunning confidence, the way she held her head and the swing of her hips. She was very glad no one knew how she felt about her math teacher.

No one except Ashlyn.

She watched Thalassa turn toward her locker once again and close her eyes. She listened as the teen began to whisper a prayer for patience and Ashlyn began to ponder how she was going to save this tortured soul. She followed Thalassa for the remainder of the day and learned a number of interesting things. Her charge had no friends at the school. There were teachers who tried to draw her out of her self-imposed shell, but no friends her own age. She excelled at math and the sciences but socially, Thalassa might as well have been a pariah of old. After classes, she made every effort to stay in the building until Vivian and her friends had driven off. Only then did she gather her things and leave the school. Instead of going home, as most of her peers did, Thalassa went to the pet shelter.

Once she stepped through the main door, the teen straightened up and made eye contact with the woman behind the long counter.

“Hey there, Mrs. Angus, how’s everything today?” She asked the woman who had been putting papers into a file folder.

“Oh, just fine, Thalassa! How are you today?”

Ashlyn watched the girl shrug as she stored her backpack behind the counter. “Same old. How’s Jasper?”

“Eating a little more today. I do believe he’s on the mend!”

Thalassa nodded. “That’s good to hear, I was getting worried. I’m going to go on back, I’ll see you when I’m done the dirty work.”

The difference in Thalassa was not as abrupt as black and white, but it was enough that Ashlyn was curious. She followed the teenager through a door set off to the side, and smiled to herself as she heard the sound of barking get louder.

“I know guys, I’m coming!” Thalassa called out.

Once she was fully through the door, the sound of barking, whining and scrabbling nails was almost overwhelming. She went to each kennel and greeted the dogs by name, if she knew them. Each of them got a scratch behind the ear or a pat on the head. Of the ten dogs, only one stayed in the corner of his kennel, lying still but watching her with big brown eyes.

“Hey, Jasper, I hear you’re eating a little. That’s really good.” Thalassa said quietly. “Once I’m done all the other stuff, I’ll come back and we’ll pick up where we left off, okay?”

The beagle’s tail thumped against the floor of the kennel and Ashlyn smiled.

This was Thalassa’s happiness. This would help Ashlyn save her soul.


	3. There's A Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash finally learns the mystery behind her river, and we get a further glimpse into Thalassa's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! WARNING!  
> There is mention of suicide in this chapter, more so than what we've read so far. Ever wonder why Ashlyn is the Angel of Lost Souls?   
> You should have...

**_Angels are nearer than you think._ **

**_Billy Graham_ **

**  
  
**

Once all the kennels had been cleaned, all the dogs exercised and fed, all the water bowls topped up with fresh water, only then did Thalassa go back out front to her bag. Mrs. Angus was busy with a potential adoptive family, so the teenager said nothing as she pulled out her dog-eared copy of Watership Down, and returned to the line of kennels.

She sat on the floor against the wall that faced all the dogs, roughly in the middle, looked up at the dogs as if they were her class and said, “Everyone remember where we left off? Okay…” and she began to read.

‘Rabbits above ground, unless they are in proved, familiar surroundings close to their holes, live in continual fear. If it grows intense enough they can become glazed and paralysed by it - tharn- to use their own word. Hazel and his companions had already been on the jump for nearly two days. Indeed, ever since they had left their own home warren, five days before, they had faced one danger after another. They were all on edge, sometimes starting at nothing and again, lying down in any patch of long grass that offered. Bigwig and Buckthorn smelt of blood and everyone else knew they did…”

Jasper barked once, causing Thalassa to look up. “Oh, now you’re getting into it, aren’t you? I figured you would like this book. It is about rabbits, after all. All right, listen now…”

And so Thalassa spent the next hour on the concrete floor reading to the dogs, and to Ashlyn.

When she finally eased through the door of the squat white house, no one greeted Thalassa. There was no loving mother to call out that her dinner had been set aside, or even kept warm for her. No one asked how her day went, no one asked how her favorite dog was recovering. She took off her shoes at the front door, set them under the bench and padded upstairs to her room on silent feet. She did her homework by the light of the small lamp on the desk, and once that was done, changed for bed, used the bathroom, crawled under her covers and shut the light out. She did not eat, or exchange a single word with anyone else in the house.

Ashlyn did not leave her side until her breathing evened out as she gave in to sleep.

**  
  
**

****

**  
  
**

The river was her home, and every time she focused on returning to the place where her Kindred dwelled, that was where she went. She wasn’t quite sure why, she only knew that was the way it was. This time, she was surprised to see Dee there.

“Ashlyn.”

“Dee…?”

The Angel of Death shrugged one shoulder. “Atal mentioned  you wanted to speak to me, and I knew you were returning, so here I am. How’s the new assignment?”

Ashlyn lowered herself to the grass beside her friend. “My heart breaks for this one. I need to find a way to ease myself into her world so that I can stop her from committing a horrible sin.”

Dee put an arm around Ashlyn’s shoulders. “Your heart breaks for every one of them.” She said softly. “That’s why you’re good at your job.”

“Why did you petition for me, Dee?”

Death sighed. “I was wondering when we would get to that.” She looked out at the river for a minute before answering. “When I was sent to collect you, I didn’t really want to. I wanted you to go on living, you had such fire at first that I was a little envious. But I watched that spark in your eyes dim and I was saddened to think that your heart might be lost. I believed that you had so much more to offer, that I went to the Council of Elders. I petitioned for the creation of your position, and your inclusion, in part I suppose, because I did not want to let your light go. I’ve always been fond of you Ashlyn. I guess you could say I was being selfish. But it’s all worked out quite well, I think.”

Ash swallowed the lump in her throat before nearly whispering, “And the river? Why am I always drawn to the same stretch of water, Dee?”

The dark haired collector of souls sighed again, slid her arm from Ashlyn’s shoulders and took her hand. “Sweetie, I’m not sure you really want to know…”

“I do.”

Dee was silent for so long, Ash was starting to wonder if she would answer her at all.

“Do you remember your life before you were allowed to join us?”

“Only bits and pieces as I need them.”

“There is a reason for that. It has to do with why you are so good at turning lost souls away from suicide…”

Ashlyn turned her head slowly toward her friend.

“Your life was not an easy one, and even though you lived authentically and honestly, not everyone felt as you did. You eventually buckled under the cruelty of it all, and…” Dee drew a ragged, broken breath. “Took your own life in a river like this one.”

“I…” Ash couldn’t say the rest of it. She looked from the grass to the water, and barely felt the tears that coursed down her cheeks.

“Yeah, you did. That’s why you feel so badly for these that you watch over. Because your heart recognises their pain. It’s why you don’t remember your life...to keep yourself from hurting worse than you already do. The good that you do now, the souls you save, the ones you show the love of the Creator to...they are the positive side of your choice all those years ago.”

Ashlyn hung her head and sobbed before Dee pulled her into her arms. “I know...I’m sorry, Ash, so sorry…”

The Angel of Death held the Angel of Lost Souls while she wept openly and unashamed. Her sobs cut at the heart of her friend, the one who had believed so much in her capacity to love that the Council of Elders had agreed to take the spirit of a human among them.

The one who loved her more than almost any other being in the universe.

_to be continued_

**  
  
  
  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now you know how she got the job.  
> I'd love to know what you thought, feel free to drop me a line or two.
> 
> P.S, I know I'm not updating every day,and I apologize for that. This chapter, and the end (yes, it's already written) took a lot out of me and I needed a couple of days to get my happy back.


	4. The Spring of Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashlyn is struggling with her new-found knowledge, and decides she wants her memories back. Dee has to be the one to help her remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sincere apologies for the wait, and the shortness of this chapter. I'll make it up to you next chapter, promise!

**_For He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways  
_ **

**_Psalm 91:11_ **

****  
  


Dee sat with Ashlyn for a very long time, holding her and answering her questions, reminding her that the Creator had a plan, that she was always loved, even when she did not feel it. 

Atal ensured they were not disturbed, he knew Ashlyn had been rocked by the answer Death had not wanted to give. But he was confident that she would use her pain to help those she watched over. She just needed time.

Ashlyn sat on the bank of her river, staring at the water with a mix of horror and heartbreak. She heard Dee’s voice, low and reassuring, but she didn’t hear the words. A thousand questions tumbled through her mind, but one stood out more than all the others.

“My family?”

Dee took a deep breath before answering. “They couldn’t get over your death, it was just too hard for them. Your parents split up...your brother drinks his pain, but it never leaves him. I’m so sorry, Sweetie.”

Ash watched the water slide past with her tears falling in silent tracks.

“I’m sorry it was so hard for you.” Dee continued. “We didn’t have anyone in your position then.”

“All the angels in heaven and not one to watch over the suicidal?” the blonde angel asked. “Not one?”

“I’m afraid not. That’s why I petitioned, harrassed, I suppose, the Council of Elders to let you be the first. I thought you would be a pretty great Angel of the Lost, and you are. Not one of us could do your job the way you do, my friend.”

Ashlyn sniffled and took a shuddering breath. “I want to remember.”

Dee looked at her curiously. “Remember what?”

“My life. All of it. I want to remember.”

“Oh...Ash. That’s a lot of pain…”

“It’s not like I’m going to kill myself again, Dee. I just...Maybe I can do a better job once I remember.” Ashlyn answered in a small voice. “I can’t really say I understand their pain if I don’t remember. I don’t want to be a fraud.”

Dee nodded. “I get it, I do.”

“So how do I do it?”

“I would have to retrieve water from a specific spring. It will help you remember.”

“Let me guess, you have to ask the Council…”

“I think I can help with that.” Atal spoke up from behind them.

“I have already petitioned them on your behalf, Dee. They have agreed that you may go and bring back only the amount of water that will help Ashlyn remember her life before she joined. No more than that.”

“Why can’t I just go and take a dip myself?” Ash asked.

“Dee is ultimately responsible for the creation of your position, and you in it, and to a large degree, she is accountable for you, so it must be she who undertakes the journey.”

“What is required of me, Atal?” The Angel of Death asked.

Atal sat on the other side of Ashlyn before answering. “You will make the journey alone, meditating always on the qualities you saw in Ashlyn before she became one of us. You must reflect also on what she brings now, as our only Angel of the Lost. You may be required to plead your need before the Guardian of the Spring. When you are successful and return with the water of memory, you and Ashlyn will wade out into this river.” Atal inclined his head toward the river that slipped past them. “You will baptise her with the waters from the spring, and she will regain the memories she left behind.”

“When?”

“You leave right away. Take only the food and water that will sustain you for the trip. Eat nothing while there, or you will be required to dwell in that land forever.”

“What?” Ashlyn looked at Atal in confusion. “That’s not fair!”

“That is the rule there, Ashlyn. It is not up to us to decide such things.”

Dee patted Ash’s hand. “It’s all right. I can do this.”

“Is it dangerous?”

Dee took her friend in a hug, meeting Atal’s eyes over the blonde head. “It’s a piece of cake, Sweetie. No sweat.” She fervently hoped her friend could not hear the lie in her false assurances.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize again for the wait between chapters. I know this one was short, but I can promise the next one will be larger and more epic. After all, it's not like Dee will be going to the corner store!  
> Are you enjoying our tale so far?


	5. Unexpected Assault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get rough...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!  
> This is not a pretty chapter. This is going to get ugly, kids. There is an unwanted assault in this...of a sexual nature.  
> Sorry, but it is necessary to the story.  
> This is a short one, and I know I promised this one would be longer, but the muse whispered this in my ear and it's never wise to ignore one's muse.

 

Dee walked with Atal a little ways away from Ashlyn and her river so that they wouldn’t be overheard. “Stay with her while I’m gone? She needs someone she can lean on.”

“You have always been there for her. You are her rock. You must succeed, Dee, for her. You cannot fail. Eat nothing, drink nothing that you did not bring yourself. Resist temptation.”

“Of course. I _am_ an angel.”

“Satan’s most loyal followers were also angels.” Atal reminded her. “They are very good at charming, lying and blinding others to what is best. Hold fast to your faith, and to your friendship.”

“I will.”

Atal hugged the Angel of Death quickly. “Good luck.”

Dee nodded and returned to her friend’s side. “I’m heading out now, Ash.”

Ashlyn stood and nodded. “You don’t have to do this for me.”

“It’s the only way you’re going to regain your memories. There is no other way. Besides, I’ll be back before you know it.” Dee assumed a cocky grin. “When I get back, we’ll take a dip…” Her voice trailed away as she realized that nothing would be the same afterwards. She struggled to swallow the lump in her throat and hide her tears from her friend. “We’ll get through it together, Ash, whatever comes. I promise.”

Ashlyn nodded, too overcome to speak. She wrapped her arms around Dee and held tight, suddenly afraid she would never see her again. They stayed like that for some time, both of them fearing the same thing. Finally, Dee patted Ash on the back and whispered in her ear. “It’s time, I’ve got to go now. You’ll be all right.”

They separated and took a step back, both red-faced and damp-eyed from trying, and failing, to hold their emotions in.

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

 

Long after Dee had struck out on her journey, Ashlyn continued to sit beside her river. She knew Atal was somewhere nearby. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Dee had asked him to stay close. Even with the assumption, Ash was glad for his quiet presence. The revelations about her past had rocked her, and despite her best friend’s assurances, she wasn’t sure how she was going to handle having all her memories back. It was one thing to say she wanted them back, but quite another to consider how her actions had fractured her family. She remembered being taunted by others about who she chose to sleep with while still alive. She vaguely remembered feeling rejected and alone, but not the way she knew she should. It was the concept of it, she suspected, as opposed to the actual feelings. Although if Dee was successful, that would change.

But what else would?

Would she still be able to forgive the misguided people that caused all sorts of pain, once she recalled her own? Angels were supposed to be capable of divine-like forgiveness. Could she forgive someone that teased another until they took their own life, as she had? Would her memories change her that much?

There was no way to know until she had all her pieces back.

 

****

 

 

Thalassa wasn’t hiding exactly, but she was taking her time in the stall of the girl’s washroom. It was quiet, and she could finally relax. At least until she had to go back to class.

“Whatcha doin’, Dyke?” A voice spoke from her right, and above her.

Thalassa’s head whipped up. “Vivian! Really? Just let me have a piss in private, will you?”

 

 

Her tormentor was in the next stall, obviously standing on the toilet and smiling down at her from above the divider. “I was in here first.”

Thalassa pulled her clothing back into place and unlatched the small door, both furious and embarrassed. All she wanted to do was escape. But Vivian was suddenly in front of her. “I see why you don’t have a girlfriend...you ain’t much to look at...down there...”

“Fuck off, Vivian.” Thalassa stepped to the side.

But the other girl reached out and shoved her into the wall, face first, and held her there. Thalassa felt her breath leave her and that was bad enough, but when she felt Vivian’s hand on her ass, she began to struggle. She tried to lift her arms to push off the wall, but they were suddenly grabbed and held above her head. “What the hell...?” Thalassa tried to rotate her head, but she was held too firmly against the cinder-block wall.

“Hold her still, would you?” Vivian demanded of whoever was helping her.

“Why are you doing this?” Thalassa continued to struggle. 

“Maybe I want to.” Vivian said in her ear, still with her hand on Thalassa.

“But you’re straight!”

“Maybe I’m not as straight as you think...maybe I just like using people for whatever they can give me.”

“I’m not going to give you anything!” Thalassa spit indignantly

“Sure you are, sweet stuff.” Vivian’s tone was mocking as she stepped closer into her victim’s personal space. 

Thalassa felt Vivian’s hands begin to undo her school uniform pants and she struggled even harder, but her hands were pulled higher over her head and her feet kicked apart. She felt two hands grasp the hips of her pants, and her underwear, and when they pulled both articles of clothing down, Thalassa began to cry. “Don’t do this, please!”

“Shut up...” Vivian growled in her ear as she kicked Thalassa’s feet further apart. “Stop struggling and I’ll be gentle. Stop struggling and you might even enjoy this...”

“Someone’s coming!” The lookout at the door hissed.

Thalassa was shoved roughly into a corner and even as she fell to the floor, her tormentors fled the bathroom.

Whoever had spooked the other girls never did come into the bathroom, for which Thalassa was grateful. She pulled her clothing back on and stumbled into a stall where she sat on a toilet and sobbed until her chest hurt. When her tears finally ran out and her sobs had turned to wet hiccups, she left the stall and washed her face. She checked her reflection in the mirror and decided she looked like shit.

Fitting.

 

 

Back in her math class, she stood beside the teacher’s desk and asked if she could be excused from the rest of class.

“Are you ill, Miss Kennedy?”

“Period...” she mumbled in reply.

“Very well. Come and see me when you feel better and I’ll make sure you have the homework assignment.”

“Thank you, Miss Roberts.” Thalassa mumbled before she turned and retrieved her things from her desk. She made eye contact with no one, not even while signing herself out in the office, leaving the building and walking home.

She was relieved to find she was the only one home. She took her shoes off at the bottom of the stairs and stepped silently up to her room, where she set her bookbag on the floor and locked the door behind herself. She laid across her bed, curled into the fetal position and sobbed fresh tears of shame and frustration.

 

**_to be continued_ **

 


End file.
